In a statement posted yesterday, Killing Floor developers Tripwire Interactive have announced that the studio is laying off 36 “talented” internal staff as part of a “workforce reduction”. The job cuts come 16 months after the release of Killing Floor 3 (which James didn’t care for), and within hours of unrelated yet equally dispiriting redunancies at Skydance Games.
Tripwire’s announcement claims that this was “not an easy decision, but unfortunately a necessary one for the organisation,” adding that “these are truly great people who are exceptional at their roles, and we will help support these individuals with compassion and dignity during this transition.” There’s a small hope in me that this might mean helping those affected find new jobs quickly, though it’s hard to stay optimistic when mass layoffs in games development have become such a regular occurrence.
Despite this post primarily being about the loss of 36 livelihoods, Tripwire are quick to reassure fans that Killing Floor 3’s post-launch updates remain in active development, as does their comedy shark-action sequel Maneater 2. The studio “remain committed to our awesome community”, they say; apparently just not to their awesome employees.
This news also arrives just days after Tripwire expanded its publishing business to support small indie developers, and less than a year after its last round of layoffs in March. Tripwire also happens to have been acquired by layoff extraordinaire corporation Embracer in 2022, just for some relevant context.